Inspiring Folk Who Do Good in the World

Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others. – Plato

Who inspires you?  Is there someone you’ve thought – wow they are really stepping up and I want to be like them?

You usually can’t go looking for inspiration but often it finds you when you reach out, be inquisitive and want to help others.

As was the case with Fiona Oakes – vegan, athlete and animal sanctuary owner.  Some of her achievements include running a marathon on every continent and has achieved very fast times (including those for her age group), on various races over the years.

I came across Fiona on YouTube via a documentary called For the Animals.  It details her story and proves that being vegan is not negative in achieving the running performance you seek.  Which is what I wanted to hear because at the time there was so much negativity in the media around veganism constantly suggesting that it causes so many health deficiencies that you might as well give up any kind of exercise, let alone achieving any personal bests in your running.  So I did a bit of searching to see if anyone was able to be athletic and vegan at the same time.  And along came Fiona Oakes.

Of course, this negative theory has been quashed hundreds of times since this documentary was filmed with more and more athletes every day actively seeking a plant-based/vegan diet to improve their performance.  Chiefly because cutting out milk and dairy from your diet not only works but keeps you healthy too.

But aside from all that positivity, I was also inspired by Fiona’s love and passion for caring for animals and her way of activism for animals.  She isn’t just a show vegan, she walks the walks and in such a way you get wrapped up by her devotion and fury that she feels for her animals.  And while some people get “annoyed” by anything to do with vegan activism you can’t ever deny or argue or even turn away from what is truly happening around the meat industry or consuming animal products.

I am not 100% vegan or even plant-based for that matter but I strive to be like Fiona.  And her message speaks to me.  Both for her running ability and her dedication to help and give animals the rights they so richly deserve.  And more than both of those things I want to have the consistency that Fiona has shown in the 44 years since she went vegan (at aged 6).  44 years of giving her life to animals and run for their causes to highlight to as many people as possible the suffering that has become so prevalent in our food chain.

And Fiona doesn’t come from a place of privilege, she just does what she can with the funds she has available.  And at times that can seem like a massive feat that never deters Fiona – something which I think takes real strength.

If you want to see the documentary that inspired me you can watch it here:

I hope you like it as much as I did.

Thank you for reading.